Free stone stream, late May 2013

Back to the same neighborhood stream for some more. This time the Ausable bomber was king. This stream is only a yard across at most places, and today there were fish holding in just a few inches of fast water behind each stone as well as in the pools below. It seemed as though the larger fish had pushed the small ones up into the current. The water temps had warmed enough that the trout were veracious in their search for food. I caught at least one fish while I was walking with my fly in the water.

 Some fish from different pools in the same stream showed marked color variability. All were beautiful.

There are four large pools in this segment of the stream that hold lots of fish and some surprisingly large ones for the small amount of water they live in, at least one exceeding 14 inches. The only time a larger fish would show himself was to defend his territory from other trout. I tried every brooktrout simulation and other streamer pattern I had in my box to no avail. I'll have to think up the best way to catch these kings of the stream sometime soon.